A Systematic Review of Theories Explaining the Relationship between Statistics Anxiety and Statistical Literacy

Despite a negligible aggregate effect size, there is a prevailing narrative that statistics anxiety has a detrimental effect on statistics literacy. Without a cohesive theoretical framework, it is difficult to investigate variables that might explain why the observed relationship between statistics anxiety and statistic literacy is, on average, so small. This systematic review lays a foundation for such a framework by identifying, comparing, and evaluating relevant theories. We searched four databases and, following PRISMA guidelines, identified 56 relevant scientific reports of which 33 minimally evoked a theoretical explanation and were retained for review. The 11 theories mentioned were categorised into three types: Non-linear relationships (there is an optimal degree of statistics anxiety for statistical literacy test performance), motivational (the relationship is mediated and/or moderated by perceived control and/or value of statistics, which in turn influences learning behaviours), and cognitive-interference (statistics anxiety disrupts cognitive processes required for learning and/or recall). Only 18 studies tested the theories and almost all had severe methodological limitations, leaving a critical knowledge gap. An overlapping theoretical nomological network between statistics and mathematics anxieties emerged, suggesting that they could be the same construct. If so, the concept of statistics anxiety should be retired and insights from the more developed mathematics anxiety literature should be applied to statistics contexts just as they are to mathematics. We conclude that examining this potential overlap should be the field’s most urgent priority.